Strains of baseball past remain and abound on MOVING FORWARD, Bernie Williams's first post-Yankee release (and second overall). The disc's most sublime moment comes on a mellow and downright otherworldly version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," the song re-imagined as a lullaby opened by the Yankees nonagenarian PA announcer Bob Sheppard. Bruce Springsteen posits that "Bernie may be old for baseball but he's a spring chicken for rock `n' roll. There's plenty o' time for that" on a live duet of the Boss's 1985 baseball-touting hit, "Glory Days." While the song's a fitting cover, Williams would still garner acclaim for his Latin-flecked jazz guitar even without his all-star past. From the Afro-beat charm of the title track to the raucous splendor of his cover of Jon Secada's "Just Another Day" (again the original artist joins in), Williams continues to mingle the light touch of Grant Green with elements of Marsalis-style pop.
Professional Reviews
JazzTimes (p.88) - "The Puerto Rico native's sophomore effort is just as spirited and engaging as his debut CD from 2003, THE JOURNEY WITHIN....'Chillin' in the West' sounds exactly like it was discovered in the Acoustic Alchemy vaults."
Billboard (p.30) - "[H]e serves up a pleasant mix of light jazz and pop numbers, including a remake of Jon Secada's 1992 hit 'Just Another Day'..."
